Apple's AirPower Wireless Charging Mat Could Be Available to Buy Next Month

[The Game 161]

Why Apple is not bringing a charging stand to market is beyond me. Whether it's for the X or 8's, having your iPhone, Watch and headphone case laying flat on a pad only makes sense for overnight use. Anyone who wants an inductive charger for desk use, will quickly realize that having to lean over your iPhone to enable it unlock or to see what's on-screen is not a natural or efficient thing. Making a stand that is angled so that you can just glance at your device, much like looking at the screen of your laptop or desktop computer, is a far better, more efficient, more practical way to charge and use your iPhone.

Even for bedside use, I'd much prefer to be able to roll over and take a quick glance at my iPhone, not having to pick it up to see what notifications came in. It's not like Apple doesn't recognize this, given the years they've been selling the Lightning Stand for iPhone.

That’s planned for next year of course lol

 

[oftheheavens]

To bad you can’t use this with some of the more expensive watch bands like the link.

 

[EdT]

That’s how Apple is though. They announce things way in advance. The Apple Watch was first announced in September 2014, but launched in April 2015, the HomePod was announced June 2017, but launched in February 2018, and then the Airpower was announced in September 2017, and reportedly will launch in March 2018.

But few details. There should be a basic 'Here is what it can do' that answers questions like 'Can it charge multiple phones'. If they have something unusual as a feature then leave that as the unannounced detail.

 

[bigjnyc]

Can't even charge the watch with a metal band or any band that doesn't clip off. unless you take off one side of the band every time you are going to set it down to charge... Kind of kills the convinience.

 

[jclardy]

I just can’t justify the likely price point for the AirPower around $200, unless you have all three devices with the wireless charging AirPod battery case, Series 3 Apple Watch and iPhone X/8, then perhaps. I would imagine the price point will start somewhere around the $200 mark.

However if somebody just had an iPhone 8 or X, then there are other suitable wireless charging docks on the market for a cheaper price point.

The thing is, it doesn't make sense even if you have those devices. I have all three, but I would have to buy the AirPods wireless charging compatible case - $70, the PowerMat itself, $200. And after all that, I can't even use nightstand mode on my AW S3, and I have to take my loop band off every night before charging. And my AirPods need charging once a week, so plugging them in isn't really a big deal. How is that actually worth $270? Especially when I have this Anker wireless charger that cost me $26 and has a super small profile on my nightstand.

I don't charge anything during the day, so it doesn't make sense to have it in my office. Just seems like a product without an actual market when the most dedicated users have no use for it.

 

[Moorepheus]

My selection of model would more than likely prohibit purchasing a non-LTE model.
I’ve only seen a couple of days where I’ve hit the low power screen around 7pm.
As far as glass goes, I don’t think Apple would move from the Ion-X Glass and drive up the current price point.

I have not tried to see how much battery life I can get out of my AW3/LTE. I usually charge every morning, and when I go to place my AW on the charger, it's sitting anywhere around 60-65%, and that includes wearing it to bed and running the Pillow App. Again, all this is while the AW is attached to my iPhone or Wi-Fi.

I agree on your point about the Ion-X, but at least give us an option w/out forcing us into the LTE/Stainless Steel version just to get the better crystal.

 

[DNichter]

No real interest from me, first time in a long time

 

[tkukoc]

lol 200.00.. not a chance I'll buy it at that price. I don't even want a homepod but for a 150.00 on top of that I could get a device that does a lot more. Heck for 99.99 more I can get a new iPad from walmart/target over a mat that charges.

 

[Phone Junky]

Making a stand that is angled so that you can just glance at your device, much like looking at the screen of your laptop or desktop computer, is a far better, more efficient, more practical way to charge and use your iPhone.

Even for bedside use, I'd much prefer to be able to roll over and take a quick glance at my iPhone, not having to pick it up to see what notifications came in. It's not like Apple doesn't recognize this, given the years they've been selling the Lightning Stand for iPhone.

Amazon is your friend. I bought a wireless charging stand for less than $20 for my X. If it was made by Apple or sold in an Apple Store the price would be considerably more. It works just fine sitting next to my bed. Tap the screen to see the time. (I won't chance it leaving a clock display on all night due to possible screen burn in)
$75 for the AirPower is more than it's actual worth but we all know it's gonna be way more than that.
I have an iPhone X, AirPods, and a Series 3 Apple Watch. I have NO interest in this.

 

[bigjnyc]

I have the iPhone X and I’m going to upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 4 when it’s announced later this year so I’m assuming it will work with all future iPhone’s and Apple Watch’s, i wonder tho if when Apple release the new AirPods they will come with the case that can charge wirelessly? If so I’ll hold off on buying the charging case until the new AirPods come out.

Why would they do such a silly thing, when they can gouge their customers for an extra $60 for a seperate wireless case... Those million dollar VP bonuses aren't going to pay themselves, those poor execs need to eat and buy new houses.

 

[Ds6778]

200$ is just greedy but we all know it’s going to be 199$ lol I still don’t get the hype of wireless charging. It’s just so much slower then wired and you can’t even use the device while it’s charging.

 

[strategicthinke]

Yes, I was talking about the regular USB-C to USB cable. Didn't realize the 29w required lightning. My MBP charger is USB-C on both ends so assumed they all were. But the USB-C to Lightning is only $5 more ($25).

As for bundles I'm talking generically. Pack-in accessories are devalued. Look at the price of a retail item vs it's OEM bulk companion. The OEM bulk w/o packaging or brown box is always much less expensive even though it's identical to the retail box version. But your example is pointless since Apple doesn't sell the AW without any band. There is no way to figure out the price of each item if they were bought separately. We know what the bands cost but we don't know what the price of just the watch would be.

No, you’re wrong. The first generation watch had everything from the simpler band to the more expensive ones. The difference in the price was exactly the price difference of the bands. Also, if you took 49 dollars from the simple stainless steel Apple Watch, that would be the Base price for the watch in itself.

 

[doelcm82]

The thing is, it doesn't make sense even if you have those devices. I have all three, but I would have to buy the AirPods wireless charging compatible case - $70, the PowerMat itself, $200. And after all that, I can't even use nightstand mode on my AW S3, and I have to take my loop band off every night before charging. And my AirPods need charging once a week, so plugging them in isn't really a big deal. How is that actually worth $270? Especially when I have this Anker wireless charger that cost me $26 and has a super small profile on my nightstand.

I don't charge anything during the day, so it doesn't make sense to have it in my office. Just seems like a product without an actual market when the most dedicated users have no use for it.

Of course there is a market. You may not be part of it and I may not either. But some people will buy this just for the cool factor of seeing the charge status of all three devices.

Also, it's an accessory, and a forward-thinking one. Some will buy now in anticipation of having all three devices at some time in the future. Others will wait until they have all three devices. Still others will buy it on a whim, even if they don't have all three.

This doesn't need to break any sales records for Apple for it to be a success. It can succeed without you, and without me. It can succeed if only a small percentage of the millions of Apple users buy one. It can succeed even if your local Apple Store has only half a dozen in stock at any one time.

 

[hypertoast]

Will this wireless charge the HomePod?

 

[interessiert]

Price will be horrible anyway - and generally the advantage of wireless charging isn't that much...
Maybe charging all devices together(iPhone, iWatch and AirPods in future) over night is a reasonable setting - for fast charging during the day we prefer cable chargers

 

[Chupa Chupa]

No, you’re wrong. The first generation watch had everything from the simpler band to the more expensive ones. The difference in the price was exactly the price difference of the bands. Also, if you took 49 dollars from the simple stainless steel Apple Watch, that would be the Base price for the watch in itself.

You don't understand what I'm saying -- Apple has never sold the AW at retail without a band. Therefore it's impossible to know what only the watch would cost at retail. Since we don't know what the watch alone would cost there is no way to know how much Apple values the band in any of it's AW bundles. All we know is the price of the watch with the bundle and the individual price of the bands. We have an unknown variable in your example.

But regardless, you just prove my point. You are finding a way to justify the price, and that's fine. As I said in my original post the most severe Apple fanboys and customers who also buy Gucci shoes by the dozens will find a reason to buy AirPower. For the average consumer $200 is a hard sell for an accessory that offers minimal utility. Think about it -- it costs as much as a Series 1 AW (actually more since Series 1 can be had for $179, with a band and charge cable).

 

[Phone Junky]

Will this wireless charge the HomePod?

Only if you buy the optional flux capacitor.

 

[itsmilo]

Genuinely don’t think this is going to cost more than $100, but I await correction upon release. There’s no other chargers costing even close to $199 at the moment. Ikea has one that does 3 devices for £60 in th UK so I can’t see it being that much more

And Apple will surprise us again selling it for 199£

 

[BuddyTronic]

They can keep AirPower, since it will most likely be a lot more expensive than all the other chargers out there.

But for crying out loud, give us the wireless charging case for the AirPods!
I‘m still holding out on buying them because of this. The „Hey Siri“-update isn’t as important to me, but having switched to wireless charging with my iPhone, I just don’t see the point in getting wired-charging wireless headphones.

I don't care about price - I just want it to work good and not irritate me. That's worth double price for anything in my books

 

[jarman92]

Not even Apple. But seriously, are you saying no other company makes a wireless charging mat?

No, I’m saying exactly what I typed: no company makes something comparable to AirPower, which is not just a wireless charging mat. There is no other product that can simultaneously charge 3 devices–seemingly at any location–and broadcast battery information to the iPhone.

 

[cmiller4642]

My guess is that "$199" is in Polish dollars

199 Polish Zloty= $58.70 USD

probably be $70 here in the states

unless it does something crazy that warrants a $199 USD price....

 

[Glmnet1]

My guess is that "$199" is in Polish dollars

199 Polish Zloty= $58.70 USD

probably be $70 here in the states

unless it does something crazy that warrants a $199 USD price....

The Polish site listing price is 999,00 zł. That's where the $199 USD comes from.

I believe it's just a placeholder and we'll just have to wait to see the price. Why would Apple tell only these guys the price 4-5 months ago and not every other vendors in the world? If they started telling 3rd party vendors in November we would have heard about it from others by now.

 

[triangletechie]

$199? as in, MORE than a freakin' 4K Apple TV? no thanks.

 

[prasand]

I wonder why this is taking so long to release.

I mean, what makes this more complex than other charging mats? Perhaps it isn't taking long to release, and is just being released as scheduled. But if so, why schedule its release so long after the wireless charging capable devices were released?

 

[cmiller4642]

The Polish site listing price is 999,00 zł. That's where the $199 USD comes from.

I believe it's just a placeholder and we'll just have to wait to see the price. Why would Apple tell only these guys the price 4-5 months ago and not every other vendors in the world? If they started telling 3rd party vendors in November we would have heard about it from others by now.

Yea 999,00 must just be a placeholder in their systems

when I worked at Blockbuster back in college, our video games in the computer system had placeholder prices of 99.99 (despite the fact that they would drop at 60 bucks retail)

I can't see Apple trying to release a product for so much when you can buy cheap wireless charging pads for your iPhone already.... My guess is it'll be $99 max.